


wait for me (if that is your desire)

by yallbitter



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Arthur Pendragon Returns (Merlin), Bisexual Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Gay Merlin (Merlin), Immortal Merlin (Merlin), M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:47:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25421116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yallbitter/pseuds/yallbitter
Summary: Arthur returns. Mutual pining and (hopefully) some fun.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Kudos: 17





	1. To Be Alone

**Author's Note:**

> i'm rewatching Merlin rn and having the time of my life so i thought i'd do this. havent watched in a while so the details may be a bit off, im sorry

1000 years, 4 months, 2 weeks and 3 days.

That’s how long Merlin has been waiting for Arthur to come back.

Half an hour.

That’s how long Merlin has been waiting for coffee. He could have just magically created some but it never tasted quite as good as he wanted it to, still, if he didn’t get some soon he was willing to risk it. Finally, the barista called out the alias he was using for this 60-year-period: Alexander Emrys.  
It was easier to fake documents that made him his own son. Or cousin. Or nephew-twice-removed. Even daughter and niece a few times, though Merlin wasn’t partial to his female form. He walked up and took the coffee, then saw a number and another name written with a heart: Alica.  
Merlin cringed. It wasn’t the first time this had happened, and occasionally he would accept the offer and have a short relationship, but this Alica wasn’t really his type- he preferred blondes.  
Also, she wasn’t a man, so that effectively took her out of the running immediately. He decided to let her down easy, pulling out his phone and typing a message.

“Hey its alexander from starbucks”

“Heyyyy im Alica. Wanna grab drinks sometime?”

“Look, I’m sorry but I don’t really swing that way. You seem lovely but”

“oh”

"sorry i didnt realise"

"this is so embarrassing"

"im deleting this number"

"bye alexander"

Well. That went better than he’d anticipated, thank gods. He sighed and put his phone away, looked around and stepped into a portal. Walking into his house he glanced at the lake, out of habit more than anything else. 

He got a muffin from his cupboard then went and sat on his porch to drink his coffee and talk to “Arthur”. He was never sure if Arthur could hear him so he never said anything incriminating, though it wasn’t like he didn’t know his biggest secret already. He just needed someone to talk to that was from his time. He just needed his best friend back.  
So he spoke to the lake, and hoped that his voice might one day be enough to bring him back.


	2. It Will Come Back

Arthur felt strange, like he was halfway between asleep and awake. 

He’d been asleep for a long time, he could tell, but he was waking up.

The surface of the lake was bubbling slightly. Merlin sensed a spike in the magic around him, and he knew what was coming. He ran to the edge of the lake and watched as it became more and more silver, like a glass mirror, until it shattered, revealing a silver ball of light and magic that floated towards Merlin until it set itself down in the soft sand and disappeared.   
Suddenly, there stood Arthur, still dressed as he’d been when he died, Pendragon red and silver armour, that same soft blonde hair, the same blue neckerchief tied under his gauntlet, put there by Merlin before his body was floated away.

“Merlin? Where am I? What happened? You- you’re a sorcerer!”

He spun around in confusion. 

“Where’s the dragon? Where ARE we?”

Merlin couldn’t even speak. He just stood staring at Arthur, and then he ran to him and wrapped his arms tightly around his love, who he’d lost so long ago.

“Arthur,” he whispered, “please say that it’s really you, please PLEASE say that you’ve really come back and I’m not dreaming? Because if it's another dream, Arthur I don't think I could take it."

Arthur was confused. Merlin was wearing strange clothes, and he’d practically tackled him. He still didn’t know what was going on, but he had Merlin wrapped around him, he had Merlin whispering into his neck and it was everything he’d ever wanted, and it was Merlin, Merlin, Merlin.  
Suddenly he remembered: Gwen.   
He couldn’t stay like this with Merlin, so he pushed him roughly away in a panic.

“Of course it’s me, MERlin you idiot, who else would it be? Now, if you don’t give me an explanation as to what EXACTLY is going on I’ll-“

“Ok, ok, Arthur, I swear, I’ll explain everything, just come inside and sit down. I’ll find you something to wear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no ur titles are all hozier songs


	3. Would That I

Merlin’s story was convoluted and strange, and yet Arthur couldn’t bring himself not to believe him. Hearing him explain all the times that he’d saved his life, every instance of magic protection just kept adding to Arthur’s trust. When Merlin told him how long he’d been “dead” as it were, Arthur had practically fallen off his seat.

“A thousand years? I don’t understand. How can I be..... fine?”

“Arthur, I honestly don’t know. I know there’s magic involved, because of course there is, but I’m not sure HOW it worked. I knew you’d come back, I’ve been waiting just for that but-“   
Arthur was taken aback by this. He’d assumed that Merlin hadn’t know he’d be back, that he was just, there. It gave him a strange feeling, like a snake twisting in his stomach. It wasn’t a bad feeling, just strange...

“-thur. Arthur? Arthur, you cabbage head, are you listening?”

“Sorry, just.... it’s a lot to take in.”

“I get it. Here, put these on and get some rest. You can use my bed.”

Merlin threw him a red shirt. It didn’t feel like any fabric he’d seen before, but it was soft and smelt fresh and clean. He also gave him a pair of what appeared to be black undergarments and trousers made of the same material as the shirt, but grey. He looked them over in awe. The world had changed so much, and he wasn’t certain he was going to able to figure it out, even with Merlin's help. Suddenly his shirt was being pulled over his head and his trousers unbuttoned.

“Merlin’s undressing me.” Thought Arthur. 

This was nothing new but it felt.... more intimate than before.   
Merlin skated his fingers carefully over his body, as if he was trying to make sure that Arthur was really there. Every light, practised touch sent electric shocks through him and he lent into the touch subconsciously. And then, as soon as it had started it stopped.   
He was dressed in the new clothes and laying in a soft bed, warm, comfortable....  
and lonely. 

He slowly drifted off to sleep and dreamt of soft, gentle touches.


End file.
